Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Smile Lee/WikiCommons/Public Domain
A RECENT INCIDENT involving legislative assistants of Han Kuo-yu and Johnny Chiang, as president and vice president of the legislature, has led to increased focus on the issue of Chinese lobbying.
Namely, legislative assistants of the two politicians were treated to a banquet by a representative of BYD Company. BYD is a Chinese car company seeking to partner with Taikoo Motors Limited to import vehicles assembled in Thailand. This would be done through a Taikoo dealership in Taipei.
Lobbying by Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau residents, legal persons, organizations, or other institutions or individuals representing them is illegal according to Article 8 of the Lobbying Act. Nevertheless, there are no legal punishments that are specified for such lobbying.
DPP legislator Wang Ting-yu has called for penalties to be introduced. Wang has suggested penalties of between 1 million and 5 million NT for Chinese lobbyists or individuals who act as their proxies. Reportedly, there had previously been an attempt to close this loophole earlier in the legislative session, but because of the stalled legislature, this did not occur.
The DPP is currently outvoted in the legislature by the KMT and TPP, who hold a narrow majority in the legislature when the two parties vote together. But there may be some leverage for the DPP where the DPP is concerned. TPP party chair Huang Kuo-chang has called for an investigative committee to be formed to look into potential wrongdoing by BYD. It is possible that the TPP would hope to differentiate its image from the KMT when it comes to mediating perceptions of it as pro-China. Still, other TPP members have seemingly dissented. TPP legislator Lin Kuo-cheng has suggested that definitions of lobbying in Article 8 of the Lobbying Act are not defined specifically enough.
It is also to be noted that if there is any attempt to change relevant laws, this will require changes to Taiwan’s current security laws. The pan-Blue camp has suggested shifting such security laws from the executive branch of government and judiciary to the legislature and is likely to try and push back against measures by the DPP aimed at securitizing Taiwanese society.
In particular, there has not been much discussion of the issue of Chinese lobbying in past years. Illicit business ties between Taiwanese and Chinese entities have long existed. Likewise, KMT lawmakers have long faced allegations of working with the Chinese United Front, seemingly putting out CCP talking points in a way that some find suspicious. The legal offensives that the KMT embarked on in the past two years have also been accused of being at China’s behest.
But, more directly, KMT lawmakers have been accused of leaking information to China. A case in point would be legal charges faced by Ma Wen-chun for leaking details of Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China. It is also widely known that Taiwanese veterans sometimes travel to China to meet with Chinese counterparts, making public displays of fidelity to the PRC that are used for propaganda purposes and potentially leaking information.
There has also been much discussion in past years of Chinese disinformation as it seeks to affect Taiwanese society. This is on multiple fronts, such as seeking to influence the outcomes of elections or to undermine Taiwanese society’s confidence in its capacity to defend itself against Chinese military threats.
Ironically, this may have resulted in less discussion of Chinese lobbying as it stands to impact Taiwanese society. Chinese lobbying, when it takes place, is often understood through other frameworks. This is a rare case in point otherwise.